


I'd Rather be Lucky Than Good

by Magykal777



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Locke & Key (TV), Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:46:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23097310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magykal777/pseuds/Magykal777
Summary: Yphrum's Law: everything that can work, will work
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Character(s), Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue: The Luck of the Irish

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning: this is just a side project, as my main fandom is The Umbrella Academy, and will be updated even more irregularly than my other works. 
> 
> I had an idea after watching the Netflix series Locke & Key (which is really good), I thought it could be incorporated into Harry Potter somehow... and here we are! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, but don't expect too much from updates.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meaning: extreme good fortune

Many people use the phrase ‘luck of the irish’ to wish good fortune on their friends and family, especially around the month of March. Most receivers of the saying don’t actually see good fortune, or some have a happy coincidence that leads them to believe the adage worked. However, one family is truly lucky, and Lucy Yphrum-Locke is probably the luckiest person in the world. 

The Yphrum family is- was- Pureblooded, although not included in the Sacred 28; for centuries upon centuries, they lived in the small town of Wexford, Ireland and remained an obscure name for the aristocrats of England. The Yphrum lineage did not particularly pride itself on remaining ‘pure,’ unlike the 28, and there are several interspersed marriages throughout the lineage to Muggles, Muggleborns or Half-bloods. Because of this, there are several offshoots of the main Yphrum family, including one that fell into bad luck and along with some typographical errors, their last name changed to ‘Murphy.’ However, the true so-called ‘luck’ of the Yphrums was established in 1974, when an indirect descendent, Alan Ableson, wrote Yphrum’s Law: everything that can work, will work. 

The Lockes, on the other hand, had never been truly ‘pure.’ Most of the magical lineage of their family was made up of Half-bloods and Muggleborns. The Lockes, in actuality, were originally the ‘Keyes,’ who earned their last name from their livelihood- key making. Since 1756, they had made custom keys for the families of the villages near Wexford, earning a reputation because of the unique molded designs and metals used in their creations. 

However, the business fell on hard times. In the 1840s, the Keyes lost much of their income to the Irish Famine and were soon struggling to stay in business. In their hour of need, a reasonably well-known man by the last name of ‘Locke’ entered into a marriage contract with the eldest female Keye, who helped the business return to its old success with a new trick- magic. While Muggles, of course, weren’t permitted to know about their magical counterparts, Locke wasn’t going to hide his true self from his new wife. Now with unlimited potential, they restarted their business under the new name: ‘Locke & Keye.’ 

Now, more than a hundred years later, the Locke Mansion stands proudly in the wild moors outside the town where the current generation lives. Elenora Locke met Felix Yphrum in Hogwarts in the mid-1900s, and married soon after graduating. Elenora gave birth to her daughter, Lucy, who carries both the Yphrum name and Locke secrets, which will ensure her success in her future years at Hogwarts.


	2. Born With a Silver Spoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meaning: born into a wealthy family

Lucy Yphrum-Locke knew she led an unusual life, even for a young witch. Her father’s heritage had transferred to her, allowing the girl to have an unusual amount of good luck. She also grew up knowing her mother’s family’s Secret of the Keys. The Locke Manor itself was riddled with the hidden treasures from her mother’s side. Her great-and-then-some grandfather had created many magical locks with special keys and had hidden them all around the grounds of the house as a game for future generations. All of the Lockes had a special honing sense that- similarly to Parseltongue- allowed them to hear the whisper of the keys to find their hiding places. 

Many of these keys had been found (and hidden again), with the most useful ones being kept close on hand for convenient use. During the first eleven years of her life, Lucy had found many of these keys to explore the worlds hidden behind closed doors. In some of her games, she liked to fancy herself as Lucy Pevensie, finding the world of Narnia. Of course, none of witch-Lucy’s worlds had talking lions or evil snow witches, but the adventures were still thrilling. There were some worlds that were more dangerous than others (the Locke family had had some dark times, after all), but Elenora patiently taught her daughter the safest ways to navigate even the worst situations. 

The red-headed girl’s two favorite keys that she had used were the Ghostworld key, which opened the black door in the library. When the key was used, one could step into a jelly-like substance that didn’t have any true feeling at all. Their spirit would leave their physical form, causing the body to drop on the floor, mimicking death. The person’s spirit would then be free to fly unburdened in the world. There were only two drawbacks: the first was that one must never close the door, lest they be separated from their body forever; the other was that the ghost-spirit had no ability to communicate with the living. Of course, the Ghostworld did not imitate the true ghosthood of the Wizarding World, but it allowed for an experience that one would usually have to wait until death to have. 

Lucy’s other favorite key was much more benign. Her parents called it the Travelling Key, or the Key of Many Doors. When inserted into any lock, it could transport the user to any place in the world- given that they had seen the door before. The Locke-Yphrum family had used this key many times on family vacations and errand runs- they were not above using their resources for personal gain, unlike the rules superheroes in comic books tended to follow. Lucy supposed that was a pretty good reason for why her parents were in the houses they were: Elenora was a Ravenclaw, while Felix was a Slytherin. Together, they were a brilliant, cunning and ambitious couple, which Lucy tried to emulate in a single person. 

The young girl had recently received her Hogwarts letter and her parents had smiled in amusement at her excitement, promising their trip to Diagon Alley would be soon. 

☘☘☘

The trip to Diagon alley was uneventful on the whole, as Lucy had been there with her parents several times before. Despite this, there was still the initial excitement of getting her first wand, as was traditional with every young witch or wizard. It was their last stop on the long list of necessary school supplies, and by the time the family approached the old building, Lucy was practically vibrating with excitement as her parents looked on fondly. 

Opening the door to the shop, the Yphrum-Lockes entered the shadowy space. Dusty wand boxes lined the floor-to-ceiling shelves that seemed to stretch on forever and dust motes floated around the entrance of the shop by light provided by the slightly grimy windows. Given the ancient air about the place, Lucy’s excitement turned more into reverence as she walked forward to the shopkeeper’s desk. Ollivander wasn’t in the front room- as per tradition- but upon announcing their presence, the old man appeared from seemingly nowhere, striding from the gloom to greet them. 

His pale gray eyes flitted between each of their faces for a second before he said, “ah yes- Mr. Yphrum and Ms. Locke?” 

The adults nodded in assent as Ollivander continued thoughtfully, “Mr. Yphrum, I do believe your wand is Larch wood, dragon heartstring nine-and-three-quarters, unyielding?” 

The brunet man smiled slightly, “you never get it wrong, do you, Mr. Ollivander?” 

The white-haired man’s eyes crinkled, “I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr. Yphrum. And Ms. Locke- I recall that yours is Ivory with unicorn tail hair, twelve inches?” 

The red-haired woman inclined her head, “correct again, Mr. Ollivander. We’re here for our daughter, Lucy. She just turned eleven and is very excited to get her first wand.” 

Lucy, who had been standing rather open mouthed at the sight of the elderly wizard, started suddenly and blushed when she realized she’d been staring, “yes, Mr. Ollivander. I’m going to Hogwarts in the fall.”

Ollivander smiled at her, “very good! I must take some measurements before we search for your wand,” he waved his hand and a small tape measure flew over, “which is your dominant?”

“Um, my right,” the red-haired girl dutifully held out said arm. 

After measuring her arm, her height, and the length of her leg, the tape measure was withdrawn and Ollivander disappeared into the back. After a few moments, he came out with several long boxes. Placing all but one on the desk, he opened the lid of the one he still held, “Larch wood, unicorn hair, length ten-and-a-half.”

The wand was made of pale wood, closer to white than brown, with an intricate carving of leaves wrapping around the handle. The minute Lucy grasped the end, her fingertips flooded with warmth. 

Even Ollivander looked surprised, “It is very rare that my customer needs to only try one wand.” 

Felix grinned, “I suppose you just got lucky then, eh?” 

Pale gray eyes studied the brown-haired man for a minute before Ollivander nodded, “Larch wood  _ does  _ tend to favor people with hidden talents,” he turned to the enthralled girl, “perhaps we can expect surprising things from you in the future, Ms. Yphrum-Locke.” 

Lucy looked up from her new wand, “I hope so, Mr. Ollivander,” she responded sincerely. 


	3. To Fall Amongst "Friends"

**Year 1**

After their trip to Diagon Alley, the summer passed quickly and soon enough, Lucy was boarding the train for her first year at Hogwarts- after saying the traditional goodbyes to her parents, of course. She’d promised that she would study hard and write to let them know what House she was placed in. Neither of her parents were very prejudiced with the four Houses, so Lucy didn’t have to worry about getting disowned if she was placed in a less favorable one. 

The train ride was quite peaceful, as the redhead sat alone in her compartment with a book she’d brought from home. Her only interruption had been the sweets trolley, which she’d eagerly purchased goods from. Soon, she was getting off the train at the Hogwarts station with all of the other students, dressed in brand-new school robes. The first years were led across the lake in boats by a large man apparently named Hagrid, if the whispers she’d heard were correct. They then had to wait in the main hall while the school prepared for the Sorting Ceremony. Lucy had filed through the large doors in the back of the group and had barely heard a word the stern-looking Professor had said, but she knew the gist of what was said; her parents had told her of their first day often enough. 

Finally, they filed into the hall, with several people looking up, in awe of the magical ceiling. Lucy wasn’t too impressed with the spectacle, though, as she’d seen far more impressive magic done by her own family. Maybe she was biased, but a reflective ceiling didn’t seem as great as a created-from-scratch world hidden behind a locked door. 

A ratty, pointed hat sat on a stool in front of the teacher’s table. After it was done singing, the green-robed witch, Professor McGonagall, picked it up by the point and holding out a long scroll, said, “when I call your name, you will come up and place the hat on your head.”

Being a  _ Y _ name, Lucy sighed as she prepared for the long wait. 

“Abott, Hannah,” was the first name called and the blonde girl was Sorted into Hufflepuff.

Lucy zoned out for most of the names, preferring instead to study the teachers. There was, of course, the stern Professor McGonagall, who taught Transfiguration and was Gryffindor Head of House. There was Professor Dumbledore, the eccentric Headmaster, with his long, white beard and half-moon glasses. The redhead’s gaze fell on a man dressed in dark clothing, and she immediately knew he was Professor Snape, her father’s Head of House- Felix had told many amusing (although not from other house’s perspectives) stories about how harsh the Potions teacher was. On almost the polar opposite side was Professor Flitwick, the very short Head of Ravenclaw, who her mother had been rather close with, as she’d excelled in charms.

The new, turban-wearing Professor was unknown to Lucy, though, and the more she studied him, the more she saw how his nervous twitches stood out and his overall anxious air. She decided she didn’t like him on the spot. 

The redhead was pulled out of her thoughts by sudden whispers in the hall as, “Potter, Harry,” was called. While her family hadn’t taken part in the Wizarding War, Lucy also wasn’t stupid- she knew of the boy’s importance and how he’d lead to the downfall of You-Know-Who-, although she didn’t much care about what house he was going in and rolled her eyes at the school’s drama. In the end, he was- predictably- Sorted into Gryffindor with the whole table yelling like barbarians. 

Once the hall quieted down, they eventually moved on and finally-  _ finally _ \- got to the Y’s. Soon, “Yphrum-Locke, Lucy,” was called. The girl straightened her shoulders, raised her chin, and strode forward. By now, all she wanted to do was sit down- surely it was a crime to make eleven-year-old children stand still for what felt like  _ hours _ . 

At the foot of the stool, Lucy turned around and sat down, the hat sliding over her head. She didn’t even jump when she heard it’s voice speak to her,  _ hmm, very interesting. I can see that you aren’t easily impressed by power… and have the fortitude to stay out of fights that aren’t worth fighting, _ it chuckled a bit here,  _ definitely not Gryffindor, then. You can be kind, but only to those who deserve it, so you wouldn’t do well in Hufflepuff. I can see you fitting in with Ravenclaw, although you don’t thirst for knowledge. Slytherin would also work- you are ambitious and secretive enough. Where to put you?  _

Lucy didn’t have time to have the hat puzzle over her. She wanted the ceremony to be  _ done  _ so she could eat- she was starving, after all.  _ Make a decision already, would you? _ she thought testily.

The hat’s voice seemed amused as it said,  _ alright,  _ “SLYTHERIN!”

Light filled Lucy’s vision as the hat was pulled off her head, and she hurried down the steps to her new House. Luckily, she got her wish and food soon appeared on the tables. Despite the chatter around her, no one seemed particularly inclined to talk with the redhead, who was perfectly fine with that. She’d never had any friends before, and she didn’t need them now.

☘☘☘

Her first year passed by rather uneventfully. Aside from the rumors and stories that were spread about Harry Potter, there was nothing out of the ordinary that happened to Lucy. She stuck to herself, kept out of trouble and spent most of her time studying, although this wasn’t because she was a bookworm- she just didn’t have a better way to spend her time and she certainly wasn’t going to waste it. 

The only strange thing that happened was at the end of the year. It was the talk of the whole school the last week of the year- apparently, Harry Potter had taken down their Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirrell, in some underground part of the school and the Professor had turned out to be two-faced (both literally and figuratively) and had housed a shade of Lord Voldemort under his turban. 

Lucy was quite unimpressed with Dumbledore’s background checks. Wouldn’t the “greatest wizard of the time” notice something like  _ that _ during the interview? Assuming, of course, Dumbledore had even cared to give one. For all she knew, the man would have offered the job to any “qualified” person and Quirrell was just in the right place at the right time. Apparently, she had better people-reading skills than the old man did, as she’d been right to dislike the stuttering Professor. All she could do, though, was sigh, roll her eyes, and wonder what farce of a teacher would be hired for the position next year. 


	4. There but for the Grace of God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meaning: used for saying that if you were less lucky you might be in the same bad situation as someone else

**Year 2**

Their “farce” of a teacher was almost worse than the one with You-Know-Who in the back of his head. Gilderoy Lockhart was the interest of much of the female (and some male) population at Hogwarts. Lucy, however, was not impressed. There was  _ no way _ someone could maintain their apparent good looks like that and have actually  _ done  _ everything Lockhart claimed he did. His books were all about the deeds he’d done and they were even quizzed on “fun facts” about him during their first class- which, needless to say, was a disaster. 

Besides Lockhart, there was not much change elsewhere. Lucy brought her broom to Hogwarts for the first time, although not to try out. Quidditch held no interest for her as far as activities went and she mostly spent time on her broom for her own enjoyment. The teachers gave out the standard amount of homework, Snape was just as nasty to Gryffindors as usual and the rumor mill generated by the students was never quiet. 

This year, though, things got more interesting for the student body as a whole (although “interesting” is objective.) This year, there was writing on the wall. The students had left the Great Hall after dinner one evening and had traveled their usual routes to their separate dormitories, but instead of parting ways like usual, there was a large knot in the middle of the hallway. 

Lucy weaved between her peers to get a better look. When she arrived at the front, she saw what everyone was focused on: there was bloody, red writing on the wall that said: 

_ Enemies of the Heir beware. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened _ , with Mrs. Norris hanging by her tail on a lamp, staring into a large puddle of water.  _ That  _ certainly sent the school into a panic.

There were wild rumors about what the Chamber of Secrets actually was, who the Heir could be, and who could have possibly opened the Chamber itself. The Slytherins were given wary, mistrustful looks since the opening of the Chamber and many kept a wider berth than usual around the students from the green-robed House. 

The first student attack happened after the first Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Students only heard about it the next day, but apparently a Gryffindor fanboy of Harry Potter had been trying to sneak around the castle and had gotten himself petrified. When Lucy overheard Pansy Parkinson- who could be considered the Queen of the Rumor Mill herself- talk about how she’d heard it from a first-year Slytherin, who’d heard it from another Gryffindor in their year that it had happened, the redhead rolled her eyes at the idiocy of the Gryffindor House. 

While she could acknowledge that not  _ every  _ Gryffindor was dumb, surely they knew better than to creep around the castle at night with a petrifier on the loose? 

In an effort to calm the students’ panic, a dueling club was opened by- you guessed it- Gilderoy Lockhart, with assistance from Professor Snape. Snape being present was the only reason Lucy bothered to attend in the first place- she would enjoy seeing Lockhart getting his butt kicked. She wasn’t disappointed as their Defense teacher was easily overpowered by their Head of House. Lockhart, probably wanting to save himself from further embarrassment, decided to split the students up into pairs after that, which of course was a great idea.

The Hall erupted into chaos and it didn’t help that Snape had paired most of the Slytherins with Gryffindors. Lucy had been paired with a Ravenclaw girl in her year and they were one of the few who were doing anything remotely close to their assigned task. To get the club back in order, Snape then suggested that they only  _ block  _ friendly spells, which worked well enough until Draco Malfoy- a fellow and very well-known Slytherin- decided to play into his grudge against Potter and conjured a snake. 

Lockhart tried to get rid of the snake, but only ended up angering it further by sending it towards a Hufflepuff in Lucy’s year. Then, Potter surprised everyone by speaking Parseltongue to it, which made him the new suspect for being the Heir that the Chambers talked about. Lucy had to roll her eyes at that, too, because there was pretty much no one more Gryffindor than Harry Potter, but it was just more fame to add to his already well-known name. The club was disbanded after that since it was more trouble than it was worth (and Lockhart was probably worried that it would ruin his reputation even more.) 

☘☘☘

After Christmas break- which Lucy knew better than to stay at school for- she began setting a study routine for their finals at the end of the year. While she was by no means what would be considered a “bookworm,” she always made sure to do as well as she could in her classes. Besides, by starting to study early, she’d get to enjoy the nice weather that appeared in the spring when everyone else was stuck inside. 

By the time the students returned to their normal schedules, two more petrifications had taken place- Nearly Headless Nick (a ghost) and the Hufflepuff Potter had saved the night of the dueling club. Lucy wasn’t surprised that Dumbledore hadn’t closed the school, but she wondered how far he’d have to be pushed to consider it. If he hired someone with You-Know-Who on the back of their head, a petrifying menace would probably not ruffle him at all. 

After the horror that was Valentine’s Day of 1993, promoted (of course) by Lockhart himself, (although Lucy wasn’t as affected as other students were) many more of Hogwarts’ students turned to their books to prepare for the end-of-year exams. In her review of topics, Lucy looked into several new subjects in order to make a better decision for her third-year extra courses. Her parents, who were quite fond of telling her stories from their own school days, often spoke of their third-year subjects. 

They’d both taken Divination, which they said was only a good class if you wanted to die a lot in. Felix had taken Arithmancy, which he said was far more statistically correct than Divination and a more respectable interest. Elenora, on the other hand, had taken Care of Magical Creatures, which she’d also quite enjoyed. Lucy’s mother was of a more giving nature so her affinity for the class wasn’t a surprise. 

While Lucy didn’t think she was an outdoor person, she was at least willing to give the subject matter a try and had taken to reading several books about the course to get a better understanding. Everyone was currently at the Quidditch game outside, but Lucy had no interest in wasting time watching the game. After finishing her studying for the day, she turned to the Magical Creatures books she’d picked out. 

The subject as a whole was quite interesting, but the physical aspect of caring for the creatures didn’t quite appeal to Lucy as it did to her mother. So far, the redhead was planning on taking Arithmancy like her father and Ancient Runes. Both seemed to be decently challenging with interesting topics that were more geared towards her nature than the remaining options. 

The book she’d chosen for today was entitled  _ Magical Creatures A-M and Z, a Concise Guide.  _ She was currently on ‘B’ named creatures when a shuffling noise interrupted her focus. Lucy looked up warily. For all she knew, Slytherin’s monster could have a favorite pastime of reading. It turned out to be Gryffindor’s monster instead- Hermione Granger, devourer of books. 

  
Everyone knew of the muggleborn’s bookishness, so it really wasn’t a surprise to see the bushy-haired witch in the library, “Granger?” Lucy called to her, “what are you doing in here? Shouldn’t you be supporting Potter?”

The girl turned around, jumping in surprise, “oh,” she said awkwardly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was anyone here. I have to do some research,” she answered Lucy’s question distractedly. 

“Right,” the redhead said slowly, watching as the girl flipped through several titles on the shelf as she mumbled under her breath _ , “where is it… where is it…”  _

Lucy leaned her head on her hand to prop herself up, “looking for something, are you?” 

“Yes,” Granger admitted half to herself, “there’s a book in this series- something  _ ‘A to B… guide _ ’? It was here the other day when I went to dinner.” 

It was Lucy’s turn to be awkward as she said, “oh,” while flipping to the front of her own book, “sorry Granger, I think I’m borrowing it right now. Do you want to look with me?” 

At the brunette’s surprised look, Lucy smiled slightly, “contrary to popular belief, not all Slytherins are evil.” 

The witch blushed slightly, “right. I’d like that, if you don’t mind.”

Lucy went back to the beginning for Granger’s benefit and they flipped through the book together, “is there something in particular you’re looking for, Granger?” 

“It has to do with the Chamber,” she explained, her eyes never leaving the book, “I think there’s a magical creature behind it, so that’s what I’ve been researching.” 

The redhead gave her an approving look, “you’re as clever as they give you credit for,” she commented, causing the girl to blush again. 

It was when they landed on the page entitled ‘Basilisks’ that their forward progress stopped. “This is it!” Granger exclaimed excitedly. 

“Slytherin’s monster?” Lucy asked, looking at the page. Sure enough, one of the symptoms was petrification, “you’re a genius, Granger. Who are we going to tell?” 

“We have to go to Dumbledore,” she answered firmly, not even hesitating as she tore the page out. 

Lucy gave her an astonished look, “we could just bring the book, you know.” 

Granger wasn’t listening anymore as she stood up, “we’ve got to tell people to use mirrors,” she said instead, already halfway towards the entrance. 

Lucy moved to follow her, ignoring the rest of the books she had laid out as the two left the library. A shout stopped them in their tracks, “hey, you two!” 

Together, the girls turned to see a Ravenclaw Prefect striding towards them. Lucy’s self-preservation kicked in, “gotta scoot,” was all she said to the bushy-haired witch before the redhead booked it back to her dormitory. While she was pretty sure it wasn’t a crime to  _ not  _ attend a Quidditch game, Lucy preferred to go unnoticed in the halls at school and losing points or getting detention would certainly draw attention to herself. 

It was only later, after the students who’d attended the now-cancelled Quidditch game returned to the dormitory did she learn (from Pansy Parkinson, of course) that Hermione Granger and the Prefect Penelope Clearwater had been petrified in the hallway near the library. 

☘☘☘

After her near-miss, Lucy kept even more to herself than usual and spent as much time as she could outside, figuring that the Basilisk (now that she knew what it was) would prefer to stay inside the cooler environment of the school. Dumbledore was finally required to take account of his actions (or lack thereof) and had been forced to flee by the board of governors. Hagrid, the half-giant that lived on the school grounds, was arrested and sent to Azkaban. Lucy didn’t even hear this from Pansy Parkinson; Draco Malfoy took every opportunity to boast of his father’s actions as if they were his own. 

On the whole, the events wrapping up the end of the school year weren’t nearly as exciting as what had happened earlier. Unfortunately, all of her hard work went to waste as exams were cancelled, and of course, thanks to Harry Potter’s heroic actions, Gryffindor won the Cup the second year in a row. The feast wasn’t the least disappointing other than that, though, and Lucy looked forward to spending her summer at home. 


	5. It's Alright for Someone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meaning: someone is lucky because they do not have the same problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the core of the story begins

**Year 5**

Voldemort’s return changed the course of Lucy’s life. 

Not immediately- but like everyone else, the emergence of the Dark Lord forced her to adapt to a new lifestyle. The first change began in the summer of fifth year. While the Prophet was trying to keep Potter’s side of the story quiet to save the wizarding world from going into a panic and painting the boy as a madman, most people who’d been watching the Third Task came to the same agreement (even if they didn’t verbally say anything): Lord Voldemort was back. 

Lucy’s parents- who weren’t ones to be brainwashed by the government- immediately believed Potter’s truth as Lucy recounted the events at the end of the school year to them. The red-haired girl didn’t know the full story, but from the bits and pieces she’d picked up from rumors and overheard around the school, she was able to gather a clear enough picture of the current status quo. 

That being said, Elenora and Felix sat their daughter down at the kitchen table a few nights before she was due to leave for her fifth year. 

“Now,” Felix began, “I expect that this war will happen much like the last one, as history tends to repeat itself. There will be a lot of fear, background puppeteering and corruption of the government,” here, he snorted and added “not that it needs much work these days.” 

Elenora gave her husband an amused look and gently hit his arm, “Felix,” she said in reprimand.

Lucy’s father grinned, “right, sorry. What I’m trying to say is that once Voldemort makes his appearance, England will go into a panic like they did last time. He’s going to mostly target Muggles and Muggleborns as well as blood traitors and the like. Of course, this time he’ll be after Harry Potter as well since the boy wasn’t even born at the start of the last war. Not even I know when Voldemort will make his  _ grand debut, _ (here, he used air quotes around the word) but when he does, things will get very nasty very fast.”

“You’re not going to pull me out of school yet, are you?” Lucy asked, sensing where their conversation was going.

Elenora smiled softly at her daughter, “no, Lu, we’re not. We expect that You-Know-Who would want some time to gather his forces, and besides- no war has been won in a day. We’ll keep an eye on the English climate, as it’s unlikely that he’ll breach the borders and target anywhere else, but there’s not much we can do until something happens. What we’re trying to do is prepare you for the worst possible scenario. With the way the English government’s brainwashed most of the magical community, defenses won’t be put in place until it’s too late.”

“Which is why,” Felix said “we’re going to set up our defenses early. Even if he probably won’t come to Ireland, only a fool would sit back and do nothing.”

Lucy smiled at the implication that Fudge was the fool as her father continued “since you’re not going to be at the house twenty-four seven- as much as your mother and I would like you to be- we’re going to give you your own defense. Sure, our luck can help us to some extent, but in a real pinch- or even on a daily basis- there’s more to us than that.”

The redhead’s eyes widened, “you’re giving me the Keys?” 

The copper-haired man rolled his eyes playfully, “not  _ all  _ the Keys, mind you. We don’t need you losing them, after all (here, Lucy gave an offended, _ ”heyI”  _ that was ignored ) but you  _ can  _ take two of your choosing.” 

“We know it’s a hard choice, but you’ll have plenty of time to think about your decision in the next few days,” Elenora said, “the only forbidden Key to bring, naturally, will be the one to the Shadow Crown.” 

In the end, Lucy decided on the Travelling Key and the Head Key. 

☘☘☘

The year started out as normally as any other- with the exception of great ease in getting to her classes, thanks to her use of the  Key of Many Doors. They had another incompetent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who- as her father had guessed- was a puppet of the Ministry of Magic. Umbridge interfered with much of the traditional lifestyle at Hogwarts but even then, Lucy wasn’t too affected. 

It was turning out to be another bomb of a year until the second change in Lucy’s life occurred on March 23rd. It  had started out as a normal Saturday for Lucy, albeit with extra stress due to her studying session for the OWLs. This hardly put a damper on her day, however, as it had been a pretty good review- she’d even remembered all of the necessary ingredients for Polyjuice Potion, which had evaded her memory previously. So, needless to say she’d been feeling very accomplished when she entered the Slytherin common room a few hours before dinner. 

During exam time, the common room was usually kept quiet and loud noises were only heard outside of the space since most younger Slytherins respected the stress the older ones were going through. However, upon saying the password and stepping through the stone archway, Lucy was greeted with tumult of noise- or, at least, as tumultuous as Slytherins get. 

Several groups stood in separate areas of the room holding similar magazines in their hands, whispering to each other. A few of the more outspoken members of her house were more loudly outraged, but no matter how the students reacted, one thing was clear: they were  _ not  _ happy _.  _

“What’s going on?” Lucy asked no one in particular.

“Yphrum, over here!” a girl’s voice called belonging to a pug-nosed witch in Lucy’s year, Pansy Parkinson. 

Most students called Parkinson trashy- in the nicest description- and they weren’t wrong. She was known for throwing herself at any boy who looked twice at her (which most didn’t) and was most famous for her constant focus on Draco Malfoy who never seemed interested in her in the slightest. However, trashiness aside, Parkinson  _ was  _ a good person to go to for current news- or, in her case, gossip. 

Lucy made her way over to the girls in her year. She never spent much time with them and they’d formed their own clique during their time in Hogwarts, but as long as they didn’t cross each other, they kept a respectable distance between themselves. 

“What’s going on?” Lucy asked again, this time to the dark-haired girl. 

"Look at this trash!” Parkinson fumed, “I can’t believe they’d let Potter publish something like this.” 

“Well, it  _ is  _ The Quibbler,” Lily Moon pointed out in her soft voice. 

“The Quibbler?” Lucy asked. It was a name she’d never heard before. 

“Here,” Parkinson said, thrusting the magazine at her.

Lucy took it from her, opening to the page the girls had been looking at:

HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN 

flashed loudly across the page. She frowned in confusion,  _ what was so bad about this? _

Parkinson must’ve seen her expression because her pug-face hardened, “read it,” she advised. 

Lucy’s eyes focused on the unnecessarily large image of Harry Potter’s face staring up at her before she actually read the words. It about the night of the Triwizard Tournament, and it was all there- from the time Potter had grasped the Cup with Diggory, to Diggory being killed, Voldemort’s return- some of his speech being even word-for-word from Potter’s memory- and then, at the bottom, a list of names that were apparently present Death Eaters. They were all familiar, too- Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy; expected and not a surprise, McNair, Rosier, Parkinson; known Slytherins, but then- Greengrass, Nott, and- _ Yphrum _ . 

  
Her last name stared back at her damningly.  _ Yphrum _ . Her parents weren’t Death Eaters! They’d never even been involved in the first War! Most of the names made some sort of sense, although Greengrass and Nott were probably false, but Yphrum? There was no way in hell her parents would ever sign up for that- for that  _ shit _ . Lucy’s brown eyes narrowed as she began to feel anger sweep through her.  _ No one  _ targeted her family unnecessarily. Not the government, not Dumbledore, and certainly not Potter. Who gave him the right to do this? No one, that was the answer.

The magazine crumpled in her hands as they curled into fists. 

Parkinson’s eyes lit up with amusement, “ooh, Yphrum’s  _ pissed _ !” she exclaimed, her previous fury evaporating as a new opportunity presented itself, “what’re you gonna do, Yphrum?”

Lucy met the other girl’s eyes, her own flashing with determination as she shoved the  _ trash _ back at it’s owner, “he has  _ no  _ right to do this,” she seethed, “he’ll  _ pay _ ,” and she turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.


End file.
